1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to a pressurized sprayer, a pressurized sprayer actuator, and a method of making the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Pressurized containers of the aerosol type have been traditionally equipped with an actuating button or cap, which button or cap defines a product duct through which the product passes to the discharge orifice situated within the button or cap. To discharge product from the container, the user grasps the container and with one finger of the grasping hand depresses the button or a portion of the cap to release the contents of the container.
While achieving substantial commercial success, finger actuated buttons or caps have the disadvantage of inducing finger fatigue for some users. Moreover, with the prior systems of actuation, the aiming of the discharged product to the desired surface area suffers somewhat due to the relatively awkward gripping and finger placement. A more natural grasping and actuation of the container is achieved through the use of a trigger mechanism. Examples of prior trigger actuated aerosol containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,189,232, 3,580,432; 3,987,942; 5,862,960; and 6,494,349. U.S. Pat. App. 2007/0062980 to Bates et al. discloses an aerosol sprayer actuator having a housing fitting on a container with a narrowed waist portion between and upper portion and a lower portion, and the upper portion is configured so that it rests on a portion of a user's thumb and forefinger to at least partially support the weight of the sprayer during use. U.S. Pat. App. 2007/0023457 to O'Toole et al. discloses an aerosol trigger that locks against removal from the aerosol container and has a spring that biases the trigger toward release of the trigger.
In addition, some prior spray containers are only held by a few of the user's fingers. These may result in a less than adequately secure grip, and supporting the weight of the sprayer may place an undue strain on the user's fingers. Therefore, the improved ergonomic pressurized sprayers of the current invention solve problems of carrying the weight of the sprayer, ease of trigger activation and several other problems of prior art sprayers.